AWCON Showpiece: Australian Club Block South Africa Assistant Captain From Facing Nigeria

Published: November 29, 2018

South Africa assistant captain Refiloe Jane will certainly not feature against defending champions Nigeria in Saturday's Africa Women Cup of Nations showpiece at Accra Sports Stadium, Accra.

Australian W-League side Canberra United have ordered Jane to return to the club after helping Banyana Banyana qualify for 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Because of her international commitments with South Africa, she has missed the last two fixtures played by Canberra United against Newcastle Jets and Adelaide United which they lost.

Jane was naturally disappointed that she has been ruled out of the AWCON showpiece and has backed her teammates to get the job done on Saturday.

''But we've got quality players in the team; we've got what it takes to lift the trophy whether I'm here or not. And also I want to thank the technical team for allowing me to leave at this crucial point of the tournament,'' Jane was quoted as saying by kickoff.com.

''If it was any other coach I don't think it would be easy for them to just say, 'you can leave' while we are going to play a crucial match in the tournament, which is the final.

"But all that, I need to say thank you to the team and thank you to everyone who gave me an opportunity to be here, and also to Canberra for allowing me to come and also compete in the AFCON tournament."

Refiloe Jane was in action against the Super Falcons in the opening match in Group B and found the net in their 7-1 rout of Equatorial Guinea.

Igho Kingsley